


Young Hearts

by orangina



Category: Football RPF
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Kid!Benni, Kid!Mats, They can also be really nice, kids can be mean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-27
Updated: 2015-07-27
Packaged: 2018-04-11 15:29:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4441250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orangina/pseuds/orangina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Hi Benni, can I play with you?"</p><p>"No."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Young Hearts

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Bayerngirl19](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bayerngirl19/gifts).



> For Izzy -- I got impatient, sorry! XD
> 
> Because Izzy's adorable Mario/Marco kid fic got me all gushy about kid fics again, have a Hömmels one.

Mats has always looked up to Benni, not only because he’s one of the most popular boys in first grade but also because he is a whole ten months older than Mats. Mats is the youngest boy in the grade and he’s also smaller than everyone else, which means he gets picked on sometimes. He’s a tough little boy though, he can handle it.

Upon seeing Benni and his cool friends Basti and Julian hanging out at the top of the playground, Mats scrambles up the ladder and approaches them. “Hi Benni, can I play with you?”

Benni puts his hands on his hips. “No.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’re too small, now go away,” Benni demands and Basti sticks out his tongue while Julian giggles.

Tears fill up in Mats’ eyes but he’s not about to cry in front of Benni. “I’m telling on you!” he says in as tough a voice as he can, then he sits down at the top of the slide, ready to descend and find the teacher. That’s when he feels a push on his back and he tumbles face forward down the slide, landing in a crumpled heap in the mulch. His knees and palms sting from the landing, his elbow hurts from hitting it on the yellow plastic of the slide and he has dirt in his mouth. But the worst of it all is the laughter he hears from above him.

“Stupid Mats!” one of the boys calls.

“I’m telling!” Mats hollers once again before pushing himself up and marching off, his chin and nose pointed high in the air. But it’s all he can manage before he gets to the teacher. As soon as he’s in front of her, the tears start leaking out of his eyes and he is crying.

“Oh honey, what happened to you?” The teacher bends down so she’s level with Mats, gently examining his scraped knees.

“Benni pushed me down the slide! He s-said I couldn’t play with him!” Mats chokes, scrubbing at his puffy eyes.

“That was very mean of him. Why don’t you stay here and I’ll go get him so we can talk about it, okay?” the teacher says kindly.

Mats nods. Once the teacher is gone, he sticks his thumb into his mouth and begins sucking it.

The teacher comes back holding hands with a distraught Benni. “Benni, do you see how sad your friend is?”

“He’s not my friend!” Benni exclaims, crossing his arms.

“Meanie!” Mats shoots back.

“Benni, that’s not a very kind thing to say. How would you feel if someone said that to you? How would you feel if someone told you that you couldn’t play with them?”

Benni looks thoughtful for a moment then shrugs. “I don’t know.”

“Do you think it would feel good?”

“No,” Benni admits.

“Then I think you owe Mats an apology.”

Benni hangs his head, the sunlight reflects off his short blond hair and a little sighs escapes him. “I’m sorry that I said you couldn’t play with us.”

Mats doesn’t say anything, he just keeps chewing his thumb and watching the boy he admires so much through big, sad eyes.

“Thank you, Benni. Now please come with me to the office to talk to the principal, we can’t have you hurting other children on the playground. Mats, you come along too, you need to see the nurse for a band-aid.”

Benni stamps his foot. “I didn’t hurt him!”

“Then who pushed Mats down the slide?”

“It was Basti! It was Basti!” Benni yells as he begins to break down. He does not want to get in trouble with the principal for something he didn’t do, it seems so scary.

The teacher looks dumbfounded for a moment. Dealing with two teary six-year-olds is never easy. Eventually, she decides to instruct Mats and Benni to wait here and be nice to each other AKA don’t beat each other up while she goes to locate Basti and Julian.

Mats peers up at the taller boy. He didn’t think that big bad Benni would ever cry, but here he is with a pink face and tears falling off his chin. It makes Mats sad. He wants Benni to feel better. After thinking long and hard about what he should say, he decides. “You have snot in your nose. It’s yucky.”

Benni frowns, then he wipes his nose on his sleeve and sniffles.

“I’m sorry, Mats.”

“It’s okay. I hope I’m as cool as you are when I’m your age,” Mats replies honestly, so wanting his classmate to like him.

“Do you wanna be friends? I changed my mind about not liking you,” Benni says with great seriousness, his eyebrows raised.

Mats’ face positively lights up at this. “Yes!”

Benni smiles. “Okay, we’re friends now. That means you have to hug me.”

“Oh,” says Mats. He didn’t know that was a rule, but so be it. He takes a few steps forward to his new friend and wraps his small arms around Benni’s torso and Benni does the same.

Several yards away with Basti and Julian, the teacher blinks several times just to ensure herself that she isn’t seeing things. When she concludes that she isn’t, her heart swells. This is why she loves her job.


End file.
